Are you confusing console patches vs game patches? Considering the games are reviewed when they first come out, they are at version 1.0. Still the good games seperate themselves from the pack.
No no no. Re-review Lair AFTER reading the new manual
- Thread starter RobertR1
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Are you confusing console patches vs game patches? Considering the games are reviewed when they first come out, they are at version 1.0. Still the good games seperate themselves from the pack.
This is incorrect. Every 360 (or PS3, Wii, etc.) game ever released will have to run on every 360 sold since launch even if it was never connected to the 'net for an update.
Barring additional hardware/peripheral requirements, of course.
Yep, if there is a required update it needs to be included on the disc.
However, that ain't happening.
Many games "require" updates to be playable.
I had to update my PS3 in order to play any game IIRC
But I do think that the publisher should note the minimum update required to play the game.
For example, this time, they should have specify that it is designed to work best for 1.92 and after. (if the improvements to the controls are as rumored)
Anyway, the "no update/patch" thing of consoles I would say is definately a thing of the past.
So if you didn't have an internet connection you couldn't have played it?
If that were true, I'd say that would be a HUGE knock against Sony. If you can't buy a game and play it without patching the game or updating your firmware, the console business is really starting to lose it.
It's a non issue though, because I haven't heard of a single game that wasn't playable out of the box ... well, except maybe Lair, which I haven't tried.
Um...have all you people forgotten PSP? That is not on firmware 1.0 any more. Neither do games have to run on firmware 1.0. Later games require later firmwares, which are installed off disc, and give Sony a way to 'force' people into patching their machines for security issues.
If a game is dependent on a certain firmware, that firmware should come with the game for reviewers to review it in its proper context. If you have to, delay the game's release a couple of weeks until the firmware is out.
If a game is dependent on a certain firmware, that firmware should come with the game for reviewers to review it in its proper context. If you have to, delay the game's release a couple of weeks until the firmware is out.
Oh...
Now I get it...
Well IMO, if a game gets very low review scores from respectable sites such as GS and IGN then it has to be (at least to the majority of gamers), a poor experience.
And we are not talking about 7s and 8s that means that it's a good game that it's not meant for everyone, we are talking about 4s and 5s...
Besides, I've seen games that could get very low scores if the reviewers didn't have an open mind (Killer 7 anyone?) but they did get good scores. So IMO it's not the reviewers in this case, it's the game.
Some people may like it, most of us probably won't. After all a review is a guide for the mainstream. There are bound to be exceptions but it will be in the minority, not the majority especially when it comes to games scoring that low.
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Minimum FW comes with the game.
That was pretty much the point of contention. We've been discussing that what ships on the disc is what the game should be reviewed with, somehow it became Strange's conclusion that this meant version 1.0 of firmware, which is clearly not the case.
So LAIR shipped with 1.92? I was under the impression 1.92 was launched largely to fix problems with SIXAXIS made evident by LAIR's terrible reviews. Otherwise it's a circular arguement... do you rereview based on patches, or leave it at the retail experience?
Obviously you review what you get. If Lair was dependent on an expected patch though, they should have delayed the release of the game to reviewers until that patch was out. The problem now is if the scores written in stone that people refer to aren't telling them the actual experience they'll get. It's not just bad for Factor5 and Sony, but also in principle it's bad for gamers. eg. If you're looking for a new game and a game takes you fancy but the reviews say the control needs work so you avoid it, if the game as it is in the shops now in your latest FW system overcomes those faults, those reports you based your decision on are no longer valid.
In essence, it's an impossible situation though. You can't keep rerevewing patches, especially firmware ones. Imagine every game on PS3 being revisited every time Sony update the firmware! At the end of the day though, no approach is really right. Even the idea of a 'finished review version' doesn't really exist now, because with internet access patching can be a good thing for adding content. Motorstorm now is better than the game it was when released. The devs couldn't have not delayed the game until now to release this 'finished' version because they need a return on investment. Feature creep can happily stop you ever releasing anything!
IMO, the real solution is to totally forget reviews and try playable demos instead
In essence, it's an impossible situation though. You can't keep rerevewing patches, especially firmware ones. Imagine every game on PS3 being revisited every time Sony update the firmware! At the end of the day though, no approach is really right. Even the idea of a 'finished review version' doesn't really exist now, because with internet access patching can be a good thing for adding content. Motorstorm now is better than the game it was when released. The devs couldn't have not delayed the game until now to release this 'finished' version because they need a return on investment. Feature creep can happily stop you ever releasing anything!
IMO, the real solution is to totally forget reviews and try playable demos instead
IMO, the real solution is to totally forget reviews and try playable demos instead
Some demos are indicative of the released games, others not so much.
A good example of this is Call of Juarez. I played the demo, loved it.., therefore I decided to buy the game and I don't regret it one bit. It's my favourite X360's game. The game is amazing but the demo doesn't feature none of the very best stuff of the game -such as the 10th stage- and, in fact, the 3rd level (featured in the demo) is just average by Call of Juarez standards. Reverend Ray kicks ass.
As for other crappy games that would benefit from the Lair treatment, here are some great examples:
http://www.gamesradar.com/gb/ps3/ga...articleId=20070911102858390063§ionId=1006
All in all I didn't expect a great game because I never liked Lair's art because of those dull colors but the graphics seemed ok to me and yes, it was hyped to death but at the end of the day if you look beyond the accolades and the hot headed fans, this is a damn bad game, judging by the reviews.
I'd like to give it a try, though, but I don't have a PS3, although a friend of mine wants to buy one so maybe some day....
Cheers
I hadn't forgotten the PSP. I had no idea they were shipping firmware updates w/ games. As long as you're gettin' what you need to play the game with the game, it's cool. You just don't want people with different firmware having unequal experiences, as is the case with Lair.
archangelmorph
Veteran
That's assuming the gamer's in question actually read/care about the reviews anyway..
Problem with a game like Lair is, since it's a new IP, it's sales potential depends largely on marketing strategy & word-of-mouth following critical review..
If it was licensed IP however, the game could suck more ass than a toilet seat and STILL have no problems selling a half a million units..
Well it WAS delayed a few weeks, wasn't it? Might that have been part of the point, but the copies sent for review and the patching-up didn't sync right? The right hand doesn't often know what the left hand is doing, and all...
You'd think they would have mentioned that directly if it was the case, though, instead of being cagey about it.
Yes, but games with 20million dollar budgets don't break even on a half a million units.
A NEW TAKE on Lair review!
before the final version, there was hands on impressions. and they DIRECTLY contradicts to the final ign review of the game.
hands on.
""As we've reported previously, the SIXAXIS copes easily with dogfights in open areas, but negotiating the confined chasms without being spotted is a much tougher test of the controller's precision. Thankfully it feels responsive without being twitchy and with a little practice - we're talking less than a few minutes - gliding past the spotlights becomes second nature. The task is made considerably easier by your dragon's ability to hover, enabling you to wait for the spotlight to pass before swooping under. It can dash too, so if you accidentally stray into the light - at which point the Mokai hammer your winged beast with fireballs - you can quickly escape back into the safety of the darkness"
"Like the power generator attack in the night mission, it's a neat application of the SIXAXIS controls and adds a visceral edge to the gameplay, plus it helps to bring the players closer to the action. Indeed, Sony is so adamant that Lair is an "advert" for the SIXAXIS controller - the words of SCEE producer Dan Maher - that there's no option to fly the dragon using the analogue sticks. "We've done a lot of focus testing to get the SIXAXIS controls just right", explains Maher. "Initially we were aiming to perfect one type of controls, but quickly realised people play in different ways and therefore introduced sliding sensitivity." As a result, Lair is surprisingly easy to pick up and play, and piloting your dragon in the heat of a battle - with swarms of enemies bombarding you from every angle - becomes simple with practice. They're responsive too, and moves such as the quick 180-degree turn, executed by jolting the pad up, means that dogfighting soon becomes second nature"
most of the player's impressions contradicts to the final reviews anyway, so now if you're thinking what im thinking, there's more to those ign folks than meets the eye.
before the final version, there was hands on impressions. and they DIRECTLY contradicts to the final ign review of the game.
hands on.
""As we've reported previously, the SIXAXIS copes easily with dogfights in open areas, but negotiating the confined chasms without being spotted is a much tougher test of the controller's precision. Thankfully it feels responsive without being twitchy and with a little practice - we're talking less than a few minutes - gliding past the spotlights becomes second nature. The task is made considerably easier by your dragon's ability to hover, enabling you to wait for the spotlight to pass before swooping under. It can dash too, so if you accidentally stray into the light - at which point the Mokai hammer your winged beast with fireballs - you can quickly escape back into the safety of the darkness"
"Like the power generator attack in the night mission, it's a neat application of the SIXAXIS controls and adds a visceral edge to the gameplay, plus it helps to bring the players closer to the action. Indeed, Sony is so adamant that Lair is an "advert" for the SIXAXIS controller - the words of SCEE producer Dan Maher - that there's no option to fly the dragon using the analogue sticks. "We've done a lot of focus testing to get the SIXAXIS controls just right", explains Maher. "Initially we were aiming to perfect one type of controls, but quickly realised people play in different ways and therefore introduced sliding sensitivity." As a result, Lair is surprisingly easy to pick up and play, and piloting your dragon in the heat of a battle - with swarms of enemies bombarding you from every angle - becomes simple with practice. They're responsive too, and moves such as the quick 180-degree turn, executed by jolting the pad up, means that dogfighting soon becomes second nature"
most of the player's impressions contradicts to the final reviews anyway, so now if you're thinking what im thinking, there's more to those ign folks than meets the eye.
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